Berri's Couch
192 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 16 hours ago -Two best friends who happen to be an Autistic and an English major sit down and discuss media, film and whatever they need to to justify a degree. So come along and waste some time with us or at the very least an hour a week.
Updates weekly unless life impedes us. All episodes can be found at https://www.patreon.com/berricouch
New episodes should be up once a week unless life proceeds to stop us.
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Episodes
Ep 191 - Scoobert Doobert
July 14, 2024 13:31 - 49 minutes - 45 MBA situationship of movie that spawned a repeated hiring job for one actor? More likely than you think. Or at least it happened here with a film that is inconsistent in tone and quality but at least nailed a single character so well the actor in question transitioned into becoming the voice of a character that has existed since the 60's.
Ep 190 - Scream-ing Lillard
July 07, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 65.7 MBIconic, history writing, and industry defining. These words describe both the movie and performances in the often replicated never duplicated Scream. But while there will be many discussions of how this film works on its own but we are willing to argue how this film's twist only works thanks to 1 actor's performance in particular.
Ep 189 - Hackers
June 30, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBWe're starting another month of actor appreciation with this ........ iconic? For lack of a better word cult classic film from the mid 90's. The film that the 90's made, forgot and then thrifted to different audiences but it's greatest achievement other than somehow becoming more watchable with age, is that it's the earliest film credit of (That I can easily get a copy of), the man of the month, Matthew Lillard.
Ep 188 - Super Writing
June 23, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBNow how does a show manage to have us care about side characters we've never heard of like Shining Knight and his code of honour and make us a laugh out loud because of them turning adults into children. Both ends of the super hero spectrum are presented in this show but did they really manage to make both work?
Ep 187 - Best Batman Bar None
June 16, 2024 13:30 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBThis is the best Batman and we will not be taking questions at this time. But what exactly makes this rendition voiced by the incomparable Kevin Conroy the best? We break it down beat by shining character beat and delve into the greatest bat themed detective put to screen.
Ep 186 - Wonder Woman Done Wonderously
June 09, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBFor a character that is seemingly easy to present to the masses why does the ball get dropped so frequently? Especially when the best example is drawn, written and crafted out that all you have to do is follow the example set forth by this series. We will be showing exactly how well done this outing of the character is and why it is free of most sins that plague Wonder Woman adaptations.
Ep 185 - Superman (DCAU) and What Makes Him Super
June 02, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBLonger than average episode but we have opinions and Superman deserves to be talked about and given proper representation. So using the best Superman (animated Justice League and Unlimited) we will through and show who this character is and why this show was, and is, the best DC outing for all of its heroes.
Ep 184 - Pixar Shorts #4 (We Back Baby)
May 26, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBBirds, emotions, things that are not human reducing us to emotional messes. Pixar shorts are BACK! We're out of the weakest shorts and back to prime Pixar but these one's are less known is that due to not being as memorable or something else?
Ep 183 - Pixar Shorts #3 (Rabbit's Revenge)
May 19, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 64.3 MBAnother batch of shorts with stories of justified revenge, the pains of creative endeavours when you can't work the same as your peers, propaganda for a rival company, and the terrors of living inanimate objects in an otherwise regular city. Now we see how Pixar continues as a company with a well established reputation and if they can continue moving upwards or if there is a downturn at any point.
Ep 182 - PixarShorts #2 (Silence and Music)
May 12, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 78.9 MBThe next set of shorts are up for discussion we see through the release that take us form Bug's Life to Ratatouille. We see old men engaging in illegal gambling, children extorting creatives and the truest horrors of all....nakedness and driving tests.
Ep 181 - Pixar Shorts #1 (Knick, Knack and No Knockers)
May 05, 2024 13:30 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBAn episode dedicated to the shorts before the main features? No only the first of a series of episodes cataloguing the rise of the Pixar shorts and the highs, lows and terrors they inflicted upon people. These have left their marks for better and in one particular case worse.
Ep 180 - Coraline
April 28, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 64.5 MBLaika's first foray into production as themselves. This film defined them in the popular consciousness for better or worse, how does it stand up after all this time? Could they have done better? What fingerprints that later come to define the company can be found here? All this and a serious discussion about fictional houses in this episode.
Ep 179 - The Corpse Bride
April 21, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 57 MBSo how does Laika do on a contract job for a auteur that can at times forget that film needs a story and can't coast by on visuals alone. Is this a good merging of creators or is it better that death parts this union quickly.
Ep 178 - Kubo and the Two Strings
April 14, 2024 13:30 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBThe magnum opus of Laika productions but is it without flaws? Is stop motion a viable medium for samurai stories? Is origami a valid form of ques marker? All the questions asked and answered as we look at Kubo.
Ep 177 - Boxtrolls
April 07, 2024 13:30 - 54 minutes - 49.4 MBThe oft maligned and deemed lesser of Laika's productions is now getting a good look in through our eyes and like a judge of fine cheese (I assume there are cheese judges and competitions) we shall pour over all of the details and find deeper meaning than others maybe thought was there.
Ep 176 - Paranorman
March 31, 2024 13:30 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBStop motion, horror and a moral about acting out in fear. Just a small portion that makes this Laika film what it is and we are digging it up, casting a spell and seeing if their is magic in this film or if we should just leave it alone to its visions.
Ep 175 - Elementary vs BBC
March 24, 2024 13:30 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MBElementary wins goodnight. There are reasons we list out and we try to not devolve into just listing the bungling of one of the most popular detectives in known fiction but we don't need to be Sherlock to figure out it's just Elementary our dear Watsons.
Ep 174 - New Mysteries
March 17, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBFinally we hit the mid point of any character story to archetype pipeline, when we start making our own stories with characters that are only vaguely reminiscent of the book characters. Who handled this changed better Guy Ritchie with RDJ playing the well known detective or Disney with their small rodents in a hidden world that looks like ours?
Ep 173 - The Early Films
March 10, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBThe clues are being uncovered in the murder of the Sherlock Holmes character and his stories. We found the first set here with Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett's filmed adaptations. How will this connect to the larger picture if at all? Let's begin to unravel this mystery.
Ep 172 - The Sherlock Books
March 03, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 60 MBNow in a trend we accidentally started last year we look at another character archetype borne from a popular English literature character. Using deductive methods we will find out how this character was murdered in public knowledge and those who are responsible. But before we find the guilty parties we must start at the beginning....with Arthur Conan Doyle's books.
Ep 171 - Home Shows
February 25, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBTW: Talk of dead animals from 34:34 - 36:00 The final offer of reality TV and it focuses on the home and whether or not it is acceptable. From home improvement to hoarders, from purchasing a fixer upper to getting the dream home over a wedding the home is something we all have but not always own for yourselves.
Ep 170 - Self improvement
February 18, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBSometimes we need help improving ourselves physically and mentally, and sometimes people make shows about beating all the individuality out of you for the approval of rando's on the street who you have never met nor care about. We look at the reality phenomenon that may have lead to an uptick in social anxiety for fear of being told you are wrong and should feel bad despite harming no one and being happy.
Ep 169 - Weight Shows
February 11, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBOne of the eternal issues we all face at some point that has now been monetised and exploited by networks while claiming possible educational purposes. Some walk this tightrope better than others and some are just cruel, but can any show in this genre be slightly redeemable?
Ep 168 - Iron Chef
February 04, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 60.3 MB*Quick correction it's Filmrise Television who are the producers who have the show on YouTube and Fuji Television were a producer as well* Iconic, often replicated never duplicated and game changing, all these are just the beginning of describing Iron Chef. we try to surmise not only the appeal of this cooking show but how it changed the landscape of cooking shows and all the children it spawned.
Ep 167 - Barbie
January 28, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 71.5 MBNow the avatar for girlhood and the other icon sacrificed on the alter of pop feminism. Her legacy is long and many have come for her crown but still she stands as a beacon of high femme power. We try to brief and run through all of her histories and relevance to both us and pop culture at large.
Ep 166 - Femme Sexuality
January 21, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBTW: Talks of SA, non-consensual sex relations and sexual violence from 45:46 - 51:55 A nice easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl style topic, that in no way is a mine field of a Gordian knot topic can lead to tripping on words as we try to empathetically explain the complicated relationship real life women have with sexuality and how media's exploitation and then demonization of it, is confusing and leads to complicated feelings about said expressions.
Ep 165 - Femmes in Video Games
January 14, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 74.1 MBOne of the most rapidly changing forms of storytelling and capacity for telling stories gets a look at how it handles feminine presenting characters. Does the young one of media forms do better or is it following in the well worn footsteps of those that came before?
Ep 164 - Renaissance Princesses
January 07, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBChanging social norms, expectations from our stories and the surprise entry of a disguised villain, all the ingredients that went into making the marketable ideas of femininity presented in the renaissance era princesses of Disney. There is a tangent none saw coming but the discussion of complexity when creating the new heroines must be had as we will not be just brushing over them like some pop culture commentators before us.
Ep 163 - Disney Trinity
December 31, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBAllrighty people we begin our defence of the feminine with the classic trinity of bad faith criticism princess. These poor girls are dragged enough and we stand tall and defend them and their narratives, they do have value and aren't bad role models despite what pop feminism says.
Ep 162 - Darksiders Genesis
December 24, 2023 13:30 - 58 minutes - 53.6 MBThe ending of a legacy and we wish it was with more of a bang. Discovering the past through the journey of Strife while a world and lore building wonder how does the story itself hold up? How do we feel about the final horseman and O.G influencer Strife? Why does this feel unsatisfying as a Darsider game? All of these questions answered and more.
Ep 161 - Darksiders 3 Girlfail and Sins
December 17, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBSo we finally talk about the only female horseman and her girl fail journey through dealing with the deadly sins of man. In true human fashion we do mostly focus on the presentation of the often treaded, duplicated and revisited personifications of mankind's sins.
Ep 160 - D2 Return of Guy
December 10, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBWe're getting into the lore now, Bee is tethering herself down to try and stay on focus as we delve into the follow-up and expansion to the small breadcrumbs set up in the first game. Did the sequel hold up as far as story or should this have been a DLC to the first game?
Ep 159 - Darksiders
December 03, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBIn a change of pace we start to look at the video game Darksiders and the story it's telling through it's medium. Bee tries to stay focused on just this first game, Jerri looks into the uniqueness of storytelling through interactive media, and why this particular game stayed in our minds and quickly won us over.
Ep 158 - Shorts and BTS
November 26, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBHow does a stylised Irish animation studio handle short films and shorter content? Really well as it turns out. We close off the discussion of Cartoon Saloon with a look at their short films and easily accessible behind the scenes content.
Ep 157 - The Breadwinner
November 19, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBWe finally watch a timely (and hard to find) film that stands out amongst the Cartoon Saloon filmography, The Breadwinner. A story set in Afghanistan during the beginning of the war on terror and how a family through bravery makes it despite their circumstances. Beauty, horror and a reminder that people are not the regimes they live in all balanced in this film and we discuss it to hopefully get you to watch it.
Ep 156 - WolfWalkers
November 12, 2023 13:30 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBDespite the roughness in a voice we look at the finale in the Irish mythology trilogy produced by Cartoon Saloon and how it holds up amongst the others of its pack.
Ep 155 - Song of the Sea
November 05, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBSelkies, sea, parallel story beats, Bee spewing ideas out at record speeds, family drama. We have everything in this episode that we dive deep into the themes and symbolism used in Song of the Sea. No seriously this film is deeper than one may think once you start paddling out into ocean of interpretation. Okay I'm out of swimming and ocean bits now.
Ep 154 - Secret of Kells
October 29, 2023 13:30 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBAn animated movie about the debated history of a book of prayers from the 9th century is certainly a description that could put off some viewers, but not us! Enter the forest of animation with us and see if there is an act of higher power or if all that lays there be wolves of mediocrity.
Ep 153 - Rage
October 22, 2023 13:30 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBIt is totally thematic for us to be all over this place for this *eyes move shiftily* totally thematic. We take a look back at the music video program that weirdly became a huge part of Oz kids lives because we needed something to watch before Saturday cartoons started. So what was Rage and why do we remember it?
Ep 152 - Wiggles v HD
October 15, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBTwo children's entertainers both alike in possibilities, in fair Australian lounge rooms we lay our scene. In one corner a long running formerly 4 man troupe that became a global phenomenon and in the other 3 dags on an obvious soundstage. Who shall reign victorious The Wiggles or The Hooley Dooleys?
Ep 151 - Round the Twist
October 08, 2023 13:30 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBSOMEONE LET THIS BE SHOWN TO CHILDREN! AND THEY ENCOURAGED IT! So we go to the other end of Australian kid's programming spectrum this time with the mentally scarring Round the Twist. We try to explain this mess but I believe it would be easier to describe an intense trip to a sober friend then summarise this *gestures disgustedly* mess.
Ep 150 - Bluey
October 01, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBIt finally happened we are now talking about the blue heeler who took over the world of kids media and made adults cry. In a quite abridged form (we are not joking this could have been hours longer) we discuss a selection of episodes that we feel explain why this show took the world by storm.
Ep 149 - Howl's Moving Castle
September 24, 2023 13:30 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBFinally a movie that's theme is so obvious we can are forced to discuss how something a small as a change in voice actor can dramatically change a character and their reception.
Ep 148 - Wind Valley
September 17, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBWe are gong al the way back to the beginning. Wind, bugs, and war define this early Ghibli film but does it come in like a hurricane or should it be lost in the breeze? Let's get on the gliders and find out.
Ep 147 - The Cat Returns
September 10, 2023 13:30 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBA little story about how saving a cat can backfire quickly while also being about finding yourself as a person, and it's the only made for TV Ghibli movie. Come lay in the grass in the bright sun with us as we rest pleasantly through this nice film.
Ep 146 - Spirited Away
September 03, 2023 13:30 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBIf we had a nickel for every time a piece of childhood media involved people being turned into pigs we'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird it's happened twice.
Ep 145 - Twue Wuv
August 27, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBWe end the month wrapping up with the emotion of love in media it was just too big to fit into one episode so here ya go, the vivisection of true love. The limitations of elevating only romantic love under the false belief that your romantic partner will just get you with no work.
Ep 144 - Love Eternal?
August 20, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 61.9 MBSo we're all supposed to want to seek love but then why does media make out long term partnerships as a burden and war? Why are there so few loving couples once they tie the knot? Let's walk down the aisle and try to find out.
Ep 143 - Anger in Media
August 13, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 67.4 MBIt's not bad but, its not necessarily good It feels sudden but, it's not. It's a simple emotion until, it isn't. Anger is so personal but so easy to misinterpret so how does visual media handle this problem child? With simplified over easy boxes that everyone gets shoved in, listen in as we explain further.
Ep 142 - Inside Out and Toxic Positivity
August 06, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBSometimes media leads to unhealthy views being continued and made worse in society more often than not unintentionally. Join us as we discuss how this family film address the harmful idea of toxic positivity or at least starts to begin the dismantling process.